By Alex Y. Vergara
“I didn’t even know that you could surf in the Philippines,” exclaimed Rafé Totengco. The New York-based RTW and accessories designer was referring to his eye-opening experience after his first ever visit to Siargao a few seasons ago.
After being based in the Big Apple for several decades now, Rafé, a native of Bacolod, has more than made up for his seeming ignorance by producing another fun, wearable, and crowd-pleasing collection for Bench with a Siargao-meets-Hawaii vibe, down to the vintage “Hawaii Five-O” soundtrack.
Anchored on loose, floral-printed separates paying homage, he insisted, on the “gumamela, which sounds a lot sexier than the hibiscus,” light denim jackets, pin-striped shirts, track pants and plain and printed nylon as well as lucite carryalls, handbags and clutch bags, Rafé’s pieces were again a testament to his ability and instincts to get the public’s pulse and distill trends.
He last collaborated with Bench two years ago. This time, Rafé was among four featured designers who opened Bench’s annual summer fashion week at The Playground in BGC.
It marked the second time the designer and the homegrown global brand collaborated on a collection. Other featured talents were Seph Bagasao, Renz Reyes and Ched of Ched Studio, who all won a Bench-sponsored fashion design contest last year. Each designer showed between 10 to 12 haute couture looks made of various materials—from denim to silk to what looked like abaca—that underscored their respective ideas and techniques at fabric manipulation and juxtaposition of unlikely elements and silhouettes.
The designers also shared the ramp with off-the-rack ensembles from fast-fashion brands Cotton On and Human. The two brands are distributed exclusively in the Philippines by Suyen Corp., Bench’s mother company.
As expected in every Bench-staged fashion show, some of the hottest celebrities modeled for Rafé. They included Kisses Delavin, Derrick Monasterio, Michelle Dy, and Juliana Gomez. Day Two of the bi-annual Bench Fashion Week featuring Kashieca, Assembly Women and clothes from designer Mark Bumgarner, happens later today, March 30, also at The Playground.
